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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Save Us A Seat

Mother Jones has the background on Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court.

An Oxford and Harvard grad, Gorsuch, 49, is also one of the youngest sitting federal judges on Trump’s list—a selling point for a president looking to leave a lasting legacy on the court. He is a conservative in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and is considered an “originalist” who tries to interpret the law as the Founders would have. Also in his column: As one of the 10th Circuit judges who ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby against the Obama administration—exempting the company from federal requirements to provide employees with insurance plans that included free contraceptive coverage—his religious-right bona fides are solid.

But hard-core anti-abortion activists have been lobbying against Gorsuch and recently asked Trump to consider judges with a more proven record of anti-abortion advocacy from the bench. Andrew Schlafly, son of the late conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, recently sent out an alert to supporters arguing that Gorsuch is “NOT pro-life” because he wrote an opinion noting his obligation to follow court precedent. Schlafly sees adherence to precedent as a deal-breaker and a sign that a judge won’t overturn Roe.

All that is very nice and I’m sure he’s probably very qualified, at least as far as his legal training and background, but I suggest that Senate Democrats give him the same due consideration that the last Senate gave President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy.

We have about 1,300 days until the next presidential election, so I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t wait until America chooses a president to fill the seat, and any Democrat who votes to confirm Mr. Gorsuch should be have his ass primaried by a real Democrat next time he or she comes up for election.

And every time Mitch McConnell or John McCain or some other whiny or harrumphing obstructionist takes to the airwaves to complain about the Democrats playing politics with the Court or disrupting America’s business, we laugh in his face and reply “Merrick Garland.”

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4 barks and woofs on “Save Us A Seat”

Got a problem: Anthony Kennedy has been waiting to retire until the ninth seat was filled. Now that his former clerk has the nod Kennedy will move on and Trump will have another chance to nominate a justice. Which makes is more urgent to find a way to rid ourselves of this Little Man in the White House as soon as possible.

Sorry Faithful Correspondent, but if you get rid of Trump you get Pence, if you get rid of Pence you get Ryan, and if you get rid of Ryan you get Hatch. The only hope we have is that the Republican establishment reins in Trump.

Other commentators say Gorsuch will be reliably anti-abortion, whatever Schlafly thinks. It’s his other rulings favoring religious exemptions to civil law that most concern me. I’m glad Democrats have decided to fight this nomination, even if it’s a losing battle. I just hope they don’t go all wobbly.

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